Jojoba (ho-ho-bah) is a native Southwestern shrub that you may have used – even if you live in Europe! The seeds of jojoba are rich in an oil that is used extensively in making lotions, soaps, shampoos, and cosmetics.
Jojoba Seed Oils
The seed oils are used in all the myriad ways that sperm whale oil used to be used. Plant-based alternatives to animal-based products is not a new concept! Jojoba also has historic uses as a medicinal plant. Best of all, we can savor the beauty of this lovely silvery shrub in our Southwest landscapes.
Word Nerd Shares
The name “jojoba” comes from the O’odham name for the plant. It went first into Spanish, which is why it is spelled like it is, and then into English. Common names include goat nut, deer nut, pignut, wild hazel, quinine nut, coffeeberry, and gray box bush. Although there are references to jojoba as “nuts,” they are, botanically speaking, a seed.
Father Kino & Jojoba
As far as I can discover, Father Kino was the first European to write about jojoba. In Bolton’s 1919 translation of Kino’s journals, Kino writes of a visit with “Pima Indians” (pg. 93) and states that, among other items “. . . they also have … the medicinal fruit called jojoba, blankets, cotton fabrics, curious and very showy baskets or pitchers, macaws . . . and other conveniences.” Later, Kino describes the fruit as “. . . like the almond, and with a very salutary and effective remedy for different kinds of sickness.”
Traditional Uses
Jojoba was used in most areas where it is native. The uses varied with tribe. O’odham would crush the seeds to yield an oily paste useful for dry cracked skin, chapped lips, cuts, scrapes, and burns. Seeds were ground and pressed into cakes, and small portions were eaten in moderation as food. Eating too much has laxative action.
Seri use seeds as an emergency food, but more commonly as part of a shampoo process. Seeds can be made into necklaces.
Currently, jojoba is grown commercially for its “oil,” in reality a liquid wax ester, expressed from the seed. This oil is rare in that it is an extremely long straight-chain wax ester and not a triglyceride, making jojoba and its derivative jojoba esters more similar to human sebum and sperm whale oil than to vegetable oils. Jojoba oil is easily refined to be odorless, colorless and oxidatively stable, and is often used in cosmetics as a moisturizer and as a carrier oil for specialty fragrances. It also has potential use as both a biodiesel fuel for cars and trucks, as well as a biodegradable lubricant. Plantations of jojoba have been established in a number of desert and semi-desert areas.
Harvest & Storage
Jojoba seed on a single bush will ripen slowly over several months. This is one of the traits breeders are seeking to change. Seed is ready to be harvested when the hulls easily fall off and a slight tug releases it into your hand. If it resists, it isn’t ripe.
Store harvested seed in jars or even in the freezer to help keep the oils from going rancid.
Use
Grind jojoba seeds in a mortar and pestle for topical use.
You can toast the seeds and munch as an occasional snack.
If you have the technology, you can harvest seeds and press for the oil. On a personal note – I keep thinking about getting a seed oil press and then life happens and nibbles away at the sums I tuck away. This last time it was a new alternator for the 25 year old car. Still less expensive than car payments for a so-called modern machine that has computer brains that get easily fried.
Plant Some Jojoba
If you have some space, I advocate taking some fresh jojoba seeds and planting them (about half an inch deep) in your native landscape, or in a vacant area near you (guerilla gardening!). Grown with natural rainfall and on their own roots, jojoba quickly develop into a lovely low-water shrubs that live well in our Southwest deserts.
The growing and care of jojoba plants is a topic for Gardening With Soule.
Father Kino’s Herbs: Growing and Using Them Today – the book
Yes, I still have a few copies of this out of print book. You can purchase this information filled book from this teeny tiny on-line store (not one of those mega-sites) and I will sign and ship it to you. Due to postage increase it is now $24. Think of it as one way to shop local!
The review says:
“Award-winning garden writer Dr. Jacqueline A. Soule has pulled together a fascinating book on the life of Father Eusebio Francisco Kino and some of the plants that he brought to Southern Arizona and northwestern Sonora, and area called the Pimeria Alta.”
This link is to our sales site. The profits from the sale go to the local Horticulture Therapy non-profit Tierra del Sol Institute. We hope you will help support this great Southwest non-profit!
Historic Note
Some of the information in this article appears in a different form elsewhere in the world. It has been revised and updated here. I first wrote of it in my book Father Kino’s Herbs, and then in a 2014 blog post with the Savor Sisters. History of the Savor the Southwest website.
Bibliography for this Article
Anonymous. 2024. pers. comm.
Felger, R. S. and M. B. Moser. 1985. People of the Desert and Sea. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
Hodgson, W. C. 2001. Food Plants of the Sonoran Desert. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
Kearny T. H. and Peebles R. H., et al. 1960. Arizona Flora. University of California Press, Berkeley, CA.
Rea, A. M. 1997. At the Desert’s Green Edge. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, AZ.
Soule, J. A. 2011. Father Kino’s Herbs: Growing & Using Them Today. Tierra del Sol Institute Press. Tucson, AZ.
Legal Notes
© Article copyright Savor the Southwest // Jacqueline A. Soule. All rights reserved. You must ask permission to republish an entire blog post or article. Okay to use a short excerpt but you must give proper credit. You must include a link back to the original post on our site. No stealing photos.
Disclaimer
The authors of this website have researched the edibility of the materials we discuss, however, humans vary in their ability to tolerate different foods, drinks, and herbs. Individuals consuming flowers, plants, animals or derivatives mentioned in this blog do so entirely at their own risk. The authors on this site cannot be held responsible for any adverse reaction. In case of doubt please consult your medical practitioner.
Be the first to reply